Liquid ink development systems offer several advantages over the dry toner development systems. Liquid ink development systems are generally capable of very high image resolution because the toner particles can safely be ten or more times smaller than the dry toner particles. Liquid ink development systems also show impressive grey scale image density response to variations in image charge and achieve high levels of image density using small amounts of liquid developer. Additionally, the systems are usually inexpensive to manufacture and are very reliable.
However, liquid ink development systems are based on volatile liquid carriers or solvents. In conventional liquid development, development of an electrostatic latent image is commonly referred to as electrophoretic development. In liquid development, an insulating liquid carrier having a finely divided solid material dispersed therein contacts the imaging surface in both charged and uncharged areas. Under the influence of the electric field associated with the charged image pattern the suspended particles migrate toward the charged portions of the imaging surface separating out of the insulating liquid. This electrophoretic migration of charged particles results in the deposition of the charged particles on the imaging surface in image configuration. Electrophoretic development of an electrostatic latent image may, for example, be obtained by flowing the developer over the image bearing surface, by immersing the imaging surface in a pool of the developer or by presenting the liquid developer on a smooth surfaced roller and moving the roller against the imaging surface. Hence, in all liquid ink development systems, the imaging surface of the photoreceptor makes contact with the liquid carrier of the toner. This contact of the liquid carrier with the imaging surface or the charge transport layer of the photoreceptor typically causes a problem. The charge transport layer of the photoreceptor invariably contains a charge transport material dissolved in a polymeric binder. When in contact, the liquid carrier of the liquid ink development system causes distinct crystal formation of the charge transport material in the charge transport layer of the photoreceptor. Hence there is a need for photoreceptor which is resistant to the liquid carriers of the liquid ink development system. Currently available photoreceptors which are resistant to the ink are expensive and have limited mechanical and electrical properties.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art to provide a method and system for liquid ink resistant photoreceptors, that have good mechanical and electrical properties.